


Why can’t I see what's right in front of me?

by ginny_nandes



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Future Fic, Gen, Misunderstandings, POV Derek, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 17:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1825609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginny_nandes/pseuds/ginny_nandes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek just didn’t realize Stiles was there.<br/>And isn’t that the whole problem?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's almost all in Derek's POV but one bit, which is inside Stiles head. Allison is alive in my heart and that's that. I might do a sequel. *shrugs* Title is from Imagine Dragons' "Rocks".

There are a lot of advantages to having an Alpha whose mom is the head of the nursing staff at the local hospital. Being able to get into the hospital through a back door and to collapse in one of the rooms is one of them. Said Alpha’s mom enters the room seconds later and doesn’t even bat an eye at his state, quickly asserting the problem and getting ready to fix it with a mumbled “this again?”

The problem in this case being that the monster the pack was fighting – Derek doesn’t even know what it was, he’d have to ask Stiles later – thought it was a good idea to magically throw a whole window’s worth of glass shards in Derek’s retreating back in a last-ditch, dying effort to kill someone there.

Years of helping the pack – and getting to Head Nurse in the meantime – had trained Melissa well and she knows how to take care of a werewolf, knows about what she has to pay attention to and what she can dismiss. She goes to work on the shards peppering Derek’s back right away while he just lays there in the hospital bed. His senses are dulled and all he can feel is pain as his body tries and fails to heal around the shards.

One of the disadvantages of having Melissa McCall as his to-go nurse is that she likes to talk. A lot. And she may be trying to keep him talking to distract him from the pain or to make sure he stays awake, Derek isn’t sure. But right now he is not in the mood for chatting and, even though he got better at talking to people through the years, he will always clam up around Melissa. She reminds him too much of his own mother, her strength and care so similar to those of Talia Hale that looking at her just reminds him of what he’s lost.

Right now, she’s is singing Stiles’ praises for some reason. Derek doesn’t know where that came from, he wasn’t listening to the beginning of the conversation, but she is saying something about how well Stiles had grown up, how smart, funny and caring he was. His grunt of pain seemed like agreement enough for her, because she kept going. Derek unwillingly tunes her voice out, trying to keep himself from fainting while trying to make sure his skin doesn’t close over a particular piece of glass.

A few minutes later, his back is mostly shard-free and healed already and Derek doesn’t need to focus so hard on being awake so he can hear Melissa trailing off, though not much else. “You don’t agree with me?” She asks him. “I mean, he IS smart and has proved his worth to Scott’s pack, right? And he has saved your life a number of times.”

What was she talking about again? Oh, right. Stiles. “He is a spaz who gets in more trouble than he’s worth and never shuts up.” Derek answers, gritting his teeth.

“What? No! You can’t be serious! I thought you guys were friends!” Melissa says, taking the last shard and starting to clean the blood of his back.

“We’re in the same pack, that’s not the same thing. We’re not friends.” And now that his back is healed and his senses aren’t dulled anymore, he hears. A sharp intake of breath, a hitch on a familiar heartbeat. Just a few seconds later, the same heartbeat quickens and Derek hears footsteps hastily retreating.

Stiles. Of course. How could Derek have not realized he was there? There is always someone outside the room at the hospital, making sure no one was coming. More often than not, when Derek was the one on top of the hospital bed, Stiles was the one waiting outside. Unless he was also hurt, which wasn’t the case.

And Stiles heard everything he said, there’s no way he hadn’t. This part of the hospital was mainly empty, so he didn’t need super-werewolf-hearing in order to be able to eavesdrop on his conversation with Melissa. And Melissa has been talking loudly, as if she knew someone was listening. Usually, when she was taking care of a werewolf, she would speak just above a whisper. She knew they could hear her any way.

Derek gets up from the bed and turns to Melissa, scowling, “You knew Stiles was listening?”

Melissa looks as angry as he feels. “Yes, but that wasn’t my intention!” She screams. Her voice gets softer, more motherly, “Is that really how you feel? Even after every—”

Derek can help but to get defensive. “This is none of your business!”

“It actually is! After everything that has happened to him! Do you have any idea?” And she’s screaming again. “Stiles is like a son to me! For as long as Scott and Stiles have been friends, John and I shared the responsibility of raising them. John has always trusted me to take care of Stiles as much as I trusted him with Scott. So this is me, taking care of Stiles.” There she goes, making Derek remember his mother again.

Utterly admonished, Derek mumbles, “Stiles can take care of himself.”

Melissa just looks sad now. “Can he? Are you sure of that?” She stares at Derek and he can help but to be in awe of this woman’s courage. “You think you know him but you’re not really paying attention. Do you know why I did that just now? Because I saw the look in his face when he was outside! You were already in the room, but I saw the sad, helpless look in his face.”

Derek knows the look, he saw it the second the shards hit. Stiles was in front of him close to the door when Derek turned his back after killing the monster and ran to him when Derek started to fall to floor, screaming his name at the top of his lungs. Scott got to him first, preventing his fall, but Stiles was beside him only seconds later.

“Every time one of you gets hurt and he can’t do anything to help he gets this look — as if he’s thinking all the things you just unknowingly thrown in his face! And I wanted to cheer him up, to make him realize how important he is to your pack. But you went and blew it.” At that, Derek looks back at Melissa, sees the disappointment in her eyes and looks down again.

“He knows what I said wasn’t the truth. He always knows when I’m lying.” It’s the truth. Derek hasn’t been able to lie to Stiles for a long time. Stiles didn’t even need the werewolf lie-detector, he somehow just knew. Maybe Stiles had something else to do, maybe something else had happened and he had to leave quickly. They would be okay. There was no way Stiles had believe in what Derek said to Melissa. Stiles knew better, right?

Melissa, sighs, cleaning up the room and getting ready to leave. “Keep on believing that will be enough this time.”

* * *

_Shit shit shit! Of course! Of course Derek doesn’t see me as – as a – as a friend. Why would he? I’m just – I’m not – I’m nobody! I’m just a bumbling idiot who almost– I get in the way all the time and – Why did I come here? Scott had Derek, he would stay if – But no! I had to follow – to insist on keeping watch! And why? Why? WHY? Keys? Keys? Where are my keys? Ah! Okay, breathe... I can’t drive right now – but I can’t stay here. He’ll be out any – Okay, drive Stiles. You can drive. Go! Oh my god, why did I came here? And I was so worried. Why was I so – I know he can heal! There was no reason – Why do I care so much? Why every– I don’t– I just– I feel it inside me– When he gets hurt – I can’t – and when he’s sad or – Oh! Oh, no! No no no! This is not happening! Oh my god dude, if you’re gonna suddenly stop the car at least park it somewhere! Yeah, park, good. Oh my god, why did I have to realize it now? I can’t– I can’t– this can’t be happening! He doesn’t even like– He– I’m– He doesn’t see me as a friend and I’m IN LOVE WITH HIM!!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, stileanski, for beta-ing this! And thank you, nataliescourageclub, for making sure my English isn't too atrocious!


	2. Chapter 2

It takes Derek barely 24 hours to realize something isn’t right. That’s usually the time Stiles takes, unless he’s gravely injured after a big fight against the supernatural, to come to Derek in order to discuss the last battle. As second-in-command and the brains in the pack, after Scott turned into an Alpha, Derek and Stiles created the tradition of debating which actions were good and bad in each fight the pack fought.

But it’s midnight of the next night and no signs of Stiles. He isn’t injured, as far as Derek remembers – and Derek would remember – and he normally would call or text if anything came up, so there’s only one explanation for his absence. So, Stiles believes Derek was telling the truth to Melissa... Well, the only thing Derek can do now is to wait for the inevitable confrontation and explain himself, if necessary. Stiles isn’t one to stay quiet when slighted, so he’s sure to confront Derek about it.

The next day was a Tuesday, and that in the pack’s schedule – really, they have a schedule, thanks to Stiles and Lydia’s organization skills – that meant the 48-hours-after meeting. Which would happen in Derek’s apartment. After coming back to Beacon Hills, Derek found a good place to stay, with running water, electricity and without holes on any walls. It was actually a promise to Cora, who had graduated High School and is now living with Derek for the summer before she goes to college. Hence, the promise of better living conditions.

Cora isn’t at the apartment by the time the reunion is supposed to start, which is weird since she’s helps Derek get the apartment clean and ready for the meeting. But Derek was able to handle everything on his own just fine, so now he just sits and waits for the pack to arrive.

As usual, Scott is the first one there, but today Cora accompanies him. They seem worried but soon look at Derek and smile as if nothing were wrong, even though Scott’s smile looks a bit strained. Stiles is the last to arrive, when Derek was already suspecting he wouldn’t come. The meeting begins soon after Stiles arrival, since he’s the one responsible for taking notes of the important bits of everything they might discuss.

In the middle of the meeting, Derek realizes something quite unsettling. Somewhere along the way, after Derek had returned and joined Scott’s pack, Derek and Stiles had seamlessly developed a communication method that allowed them to understand each other and share their opinions about the things being discussed in the meeting without getting in the way of the meeting itself. The method is mostly based on smirks, nods, slight shaking of heads and eyebrow movements, but they both understood its meaning.

Now, however, Stiles won’t even look at him. Any comment he may have about the meeting, he’s keeping it to himself. That’s probably the biggest sign that Derek fucked up. After that, Derek starts to pay close attention so he doesn’t miss any more signs of how hurt Stiles may be. But it’s hard to do it without drawing unnecessary attention to the fact that he’s staring at Stiles, so it’s possible that he will miss some.

Another sign, one Derek almost loses because of how brief and small it was, happens when the meeting is over. One look, shared between Stiles and Scott and a tiny nod from the Alpha’s part. Then, Stiles is closing his notebook, quickly picking up his backpack and leaving in a hurry. With one look at the pack’s reaction to such hasty retreat, Derek realizes Scott and Cora already know something. Since it’s Stiles, Derek doesn’t know if they know the truth, half the truth or a version of the truth, any guess is good here.

After the pack leaves and Cora goes to her room, Derek is left staring out the window and feeling unhinged. He was so sure Stiles would confront him and give him an opportunity to explain. Instead, he arrived last and left first, without acknowledging Derek’s presence in the room and without saying a word. And how Derek hates it when the boy who talks too much stops talking.

Sleep does not come easy for Derek that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for today. Tomorrow I'll post the rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Derek wakes up that Thursday with a mission in mind. He had spent all of Wednesday caught between moping around (there was no one around to see, so why not?) cursing his own stupidity and thinking of ways to explain things to Stiles. The problem was that every time Derek saw Stiles (like when he “bumped into” Stiles outside the grocery store the day before), the boy would go away as fast as he could without even the slightest nod of acknowledgment. And Derek didn’t have it in him to run after Stiles, at least, not in public. He didn’t want to cause a scene.

So Derek would need Scott’s help, probably. Well, maybe not. Maybe, Stiles would show up for today’s movie night at Lydia’s and Derek would have the opportunity to talk with him in private. Yes, that would be preferable. If only Stiles would give him an opportunity to explain!

But apparently, things weren’t going to be so easy. That night, after getting to Lydia’s house, waiting for the whole pack to arrive and getting his usual place on the couch, Derek realized he underestimated Stiles’ will to stay away from him. Normally when in Lydia’s living room, Derek would sit on the couch closest to the door, with Stiles sitting (lying, or sprawling) on the floor by his feet. Derek’s plan was to wait for the movie to start and subtly put a hand on Stiles’ shoulder and ask if they could talk later, after the movie. Oh, how stupid Derek thought that plan was right now. A stupid plan, like Stiles is always saying Derek’s plans are. If he were talking to Derek right now, Stiles would probably say the plan was stupid. But he isn’t, and he won’t, because he isn’t sitting near Derek at all.

Lydia’s living room is perfect for the pack’s movie nights, because it allows them to sit comfortably with their friends Danny and Kira (who usually don’t show up in pack-related reunions, for obvious reasons). There is a couch facing the television and two loveseats facing one another. Normally, the two couples in the group would take the loveseats; Scott and Kira on the one closest to Derek. Isaac and Alisson close to Lydia. Derek would sit in one corner of the couch with Cora, Danny and Lydia on his left side. Stiles would stay on the floor so that, as he says, “he won’t annoy anyone with his twitching and moving around.”

Tonight, only Derek is in his usual seat. Isaac and Alisson are in the loveseat close to Derek (weird, how Alisson and Lydia will talk during the movie?). At Derek’s left is Scott, Kira and Danny. Cora and Lydia are in the loveseat (and wait, what?). And Stiles... Stiles is sitting on the floor, but this time, he is by Danny’s feet. Actually, he’s sitting the farthest away from Derek as possible without being in another room. His back is against the front of the couch’s arm; his legs are against his chest and his arms are around his legs. He doesn’t look like he wants to be here at all. And Derek is staring...

After realizing no one noticed him staring, Derek tries to focus his attention on the movie. It’s a new superhero movie, obviously Stiles’ choice, but he doesn’t seem at all into it. At some point during the movie, Danny’s hand finds Stiles hair and starts petting and Cora is holding one of his hands. And Derek doesn’t like that at all. But it seems to do good. Stiles shoots a little smile in Cora’s direction and presses minutely back into Danny’s hand. And Derek is staring again.

This time, Lydia catches him and frowns, so Derek looks quickly back to the movie. He supposes he should be used to feeling unhappy but there’s some other, unnamed feeling niggling him. Derek doesn’t like this situation one bit, but since it’s all his fault, he has to do something. He just doesn’t know what. After the movie, everyone stands and goes about cleaning the living room and taking things out to the kitchen, as always. After that is done and the pack are moving about putting their jackets back on, Derek goes to Scott. “Can we talk?”

“Now?” Scott frowns. “Can it be later? I have to take Kira back home. And...” A quick look in the direction where Stiles stands with Cora and Danny, apparently just waiting for the small nod before bolting with the other two. “Yeah... Can you come by my house in about one hour? If I’m not home by then, my mom will be there, she can open the door for you. But I won’t take much longer than that to get there, I promise. We can talk then, alright?”

“Yes. One hour!” Derek stressed, moving away from Scott’s eye-roll.

Outside, Cora is getting into the backseat of Stiles’ Jeep, while Danny sits in the passenger seat. The three of them look at Derek for a minute before Stiles starts the car and leaves. Scott and Kira are the last to leave, while Derek is still rooted to the spot on Lydia’s front porch and, by the time he remembers how to move and turns to say goodbye to the banshee, she is slamming the door in his face. So Lydia and Danny also know... something. And they are not happy with Derek about it. Yeah, well. Derek isn’t happy with Derek about it either.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s only when he is parking besides her car that Derek realizes Scott said his mother would be home. He would have to face Melissa. Steeling himself for the inevitable, Derek gets out of his car and goes to the front door.

Melissa opens the door after a while, in sweatpants and a t-shirt, hair still wet from the shower she obviously just took. She smiles at Derek and let him inside the house. “Scott said you would be over today. Do you want something to drink?” She says as she opens the refrigerator. “Water? Or... water?” She turns to look at him apologetically. “Sorry, I haven’t had the time to go grocery shopping.”

“It’s okay, water is fine.” Derek says, with a little smile. If he had to work as much as Melissa did, he doesn’t know if he would be able to function properly, let alone take care of a house and a teenaged werewolf son. In Derek’s eyes, Melissa was a superwoman.

His thoughts must have been showing in his face again, because Melissa’s expression softens and she mutters a “thanks” before offering the glass of water to him.

After they are both settled in the living room, waiting for Scott, Derek clears his throat and looks at Melissa. “I owe you an apology.” Upon seeing her confused expression, he continues, “Because of my behavior in the hospital the other day. I was out of line and for that I’m sorry.” He sees that she still has a frown in place, so he keeps going. “It’s just that I was hurt and vulnerable and for a moment there you reminded me of my mom and,” He takes a big breath. “And I reverted back to the guy I pretended to be before I accepted Scott as my Alpha.” Derek looks Melissa in the eye, as he finishes, “I’m not that guy anymore. So, I’m sorry.”

Melissa takes one of his hands in hers and says softly, “I know, sweetheart. I know. I mean, I was so angry with you when it happened.” Melissa squeezes the hand between hers when she sees Derek wince and continues. “But I understood why you did it after I calmed down. Besides, I’m not the one you gotta ask for forgiveness.”

“I know,” Derek says, staring at his hand between hers. “He doesn’t want to talk to me.” He gently takes his hand out of her hold, resting both of his between his parted knees, still not used to the gentleness. Melissa gives him a small, sad smile. “He doesn’t know, does he?” Melissa asks, and at Derek’s inclined head, she elaborates. “He didn’t see you at the waiting room in the hospital, or running around searching for him. He doesn’t know the lengths you went to ensure that the nogitsune was gone without taking Stiles with it. Nobody told him any of that, right?"

“No, I don’t think so.”

“So, it’s not a stretch to think he might not know there is no way what you said at the hospital is true. I mean, for Stiles, you may as well not care about him. Even John knows how much you care about Stiles, but Stiles himself does not. You have to tell him. He probably won’t believe anybody else.”

“I want to. But Stiles—”

“Is ignoring you. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Melissa says, looking like she had just realized that. “You’re gonna ask for Scott’s help.” When Derek mumbles a “yes,” Melissa smiles big and says, “Good, that’s good. Yeah.” Then, Derek can hear Scott’s motorcycle coming down the street and so he says, “Scott’s almost here.”

With a nod, Melissa gets off of the couch and goes back to the kitchen. After a few minutes in silence, while Scott is parking his bike, Melissa says, “Since I know you guys have already eaten, I’m making something for me and then I’m going to my room, so make yourself at home.”

Scott opens the door right after she says that and Derek can hear him going to the kitchen to give his mother a kiss and then coming to the living room. “Hey, Derek, sorry for taking so long.” Scott says as he enters the living room, sitting down in the couch. “It’s okay, Melissa kept me company.” Derek answers.

Scott takes a deep breath and starts to say, “So,” but before he can continue, Derek cuts in with a hushed “I need your help.” Scott’s frozen face is priceless, but Derek only enjoys it for a few seconds before continuing. “I don’t know what Stiles told you about what happened and I want to make a few things clear and ask for your help.”

That makes Scott’s mouth click shut and Scott start to shake his head slowly. “Stiles hasn’t told me anything.” On seeing Derek’s incredulous expression, he continues, “No, really. All he told me was that he overheard you saying something to my mom. Something that was expected, but that had hurt him anyway. He said the only reason he was telling me as much was because he needed me to be cool with him leaving early and basically ignoring you. He also said he wouldn’t tell me what he heard because he didn’t want me to be on bad terms with you again.”

That makes Derek groan and put his head in his hands, hiding behind them. So even though he had hurt Stiles, the boy still tried to ensure he was in his Alpha’s good side. Great. Now Derek feels like a bigger asshole than before. “To be honest,” Scott continues after a while, “it’s hard not to be mad at the person who hurt my best friend so badly. I haven’t see him so sad — even though he still tried to hide it — in quite some time.”

“It was a lie.” Derek says, looking at Scott and trying to gather his thoughts so that Scott can understand him. “What Stiles heard? Is that what you mean?” Scott asks. At Derek’s nod, Scott sighs and says, “You’re aware that you’ve hurt Stiles feelings with that lie, right?” Another nod from Derek and Scott continues, “Dude, if you want my help, I’m gonna need more than that. Use your words, tell me what happened.”

Now it’s Derek’s turn to sigh deeply. “I didn’t mean to hurt Stiles. I honestly didn’t. I wasn’t aware that he was listening, I didn’t even knew he was there.” Derek stops and thinks back to that night again. “I was injured and Melissa was talking and making all these questions and I was just trying to make her stop so I could concentrate on healing.” Derek looks at his hands, ashamed of the admission he was about to make. “I lied to her about how I see Stiles and said he was a spaz and that we were not friends and he overheard it. That’s it. He heard a lie and he believed it.” Derek sighs. “And now I want to apologize and explain it to him, but he won’t talk to me.”

“Hey,” Scott says, squeezing Derek’s shoulder. “I’ll help you. If you honestly want to apologize to Stiles, I’ll make it happen. Have you tried to actively talk to him?”

“Yes,” Derek responds, “but he’s never anywhere he knows I might go, we haven’t been alone together for more than a minute and he actually turned away from me and ran when we saw each other on the street.”

“What about his house? Have you tried the old ‘let’s go in through the window’ move?” Scott says, smirking, to which Derek responds with a pointed, “His father might’ve left the security system he put up when Stiles was sleepwalking.” Scott makes a startled face at the idea. “After more than a year?” Derek shrugs. “I don’t want to take my chances. I actually like being in the Sheriff good graces, you know?”

Scott scoffs and smiles at that and then makes this serious face while looking at the wall, thinking. “I know what we’re gonna do. We were planning to play videogames here tomorrow around two. My mom’ll be working and so will the Sheriff. Get here before he does and I’ll ask Kira to come have lunch with me. When Stiles gets here, I’ll meet him at the door with Kira and say I have to take her home or something like that and you two will be alone. How does that sound?”

“It’s a good plan, but... How do you know he won’t go away as soon as he sees me?” Derek asks. “I guess you’re gonna have to find a way to make him stay.” Scott answers with a shrug.


	5. Chapter 5

Derek almost couldn’t sleep that night. He tossed and turned in bed trying to think about how to make sure Stiles would stay and listen to him the next day. He ended up sleeping from pure exhaustion and woke up later than usual, but still too early. At 9 o’clock. he had already eaten, showered and exercised enough to make up for the excess of nervous energy in his body. He tried to pick up the book he was reading, but after one hour of reading the same paragraphs over and over without really understanding what he was reading, he gave up. He tried running, cleaning the loft, watching a movie, making a healthy lunch and even taking a nap to make up for the lack of sleep, but nothing worked. Which is why he gets to Scott’s house before one o’clock. Scott’s not amused by this.

“What are you doing here so early?” Scott asks, whispering. “I thought you were gonna get here a few minutes before Stiles, not a whole hour!”

“I’m sorry!” Derek whispers back. “I didn’t know what else to do. I can come back later.” He starts to step back, stops. “Why are we whispering?”

“Because Kira is here and I haven’t told her the plan yet.” Scott realizes Derek is really leaving, holds his arm and say, “No, no. I’m sorry, I was just surprised. You can stay.” He stares at Derek for a moment. “Wow, you’re really nervous, aren’t you? You obviously haven’t being sleeping well, you’re here early, and you were fidgeting just now.” He pats the arm he was holding. “It’s gonna be alright.” He turns and keeps talking. “Now come on in, you’ll help me explain the plan to Kira.”

Time passes faster with company. They pass the time explaining the plan to Kira and why it is necessary. Soon, Derek hears the sound of Roscoe’s engine and looks at Scott, to wait for his move. Scott looks at him at the same time and quickly gets up, calling Kira to get up with him.

They open the door while Stiles is parking his car and Derek can hear Scott talking fast. “Hey, man. I’m sorry, I know we planned to play this afternoon, and we will! We will! I swear! But Kira came to have lunch with me and my mom, and we didn’t realized how much time had passed since my mom left until you got here. So, I’ll just take Kira home and come back. Don’t look at me like that; I’ll be really really fast.”

Derek hears Stiles resigned voice say, “It’s okay. Should I follow you...?” Scott’s voice quickly follows, “No, no! Stay here, watch some television or something. I’ll be right back.” Derek hears the door of the Jeep opening and closing and Stiles’, “See ya!” before the sound of Scott’s bike startes and the house’s door closes.

Stiles gets into the living room not a full minute later. He visually freezes when he sees Derek, his eyes widen and his heart starts beating fast. Before Derek can even say anything, Stiles gives a small step back, eyes flitting everywhere, flight instincts apparently kicking in. Before he can give another step back, however, Derek calls out, “Stiles!” Which is apparently the wrong thing to do, as Stiles visually pales, hushes to say, “No, it’s alright! I’m leaving,” and turns to do just that.

Before Stiles can give a single step towards the door, Derek says, “I have something I want to say before you leave.” Stiles takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders and, without looking back, asks, “Did you think that maybe I don’t what to hear it?” And that hurts, but Derek thinks he deserves it. So, in a hushed voice, he says, “Yeah, I did. But I was hoping you would hear it anyway. Please?” At his plea, Stiles visually deflates, sighs and turns back around to sit on the couch.

After he’s perfectly comfortable and a full minute has passed, Stiles finally looks at Derek, daring, “Come on, talk.” He is visibly ready for a fight and that’s not what Derek wants. Derek moves to the couch, sits on the opposite end from Stiles and stares at anything but him, while trying to find the words to explain. He decides to begin with a simple, “I’m sorry,” which causes quite the reaction from Stiles; a sharp intake of breath and a face turned so fast Derek fears the boy gave himself whiplash. When Stiles freezes, only blinking at him, obviously at a loss, Derek elaborates, “About what I said. That night. To Melissa.”

After a few more blinking seconds, Stiles releases a soft, “Oh,” so Derek keeps going, “I didn’t realize you were there.” And that was also not the right thing to say, because the fight is back in Stiles’ eyes and he frowns, “So?”

Derek calms himself, mentally promising he won’t lose control, and continues, “So I lied.” Stiles scoffs, “Yeah. I know that.” He looks so sure that he knows exactly what’s happened that Derek exclaims, “To Melissa, Stiles! I lied to Melissa!”

And finally, Stiles seems to get that what’s happening here isn’t what he was expecting, “Why?” That’s a good question, and Derek needs a moment to gather his thoughts. “Because I didn’t want to appear more vulnerable to her than I already was.” After all, being hurt and needing help was bad enough.

But unfortunately, Stiles doesn’t get it, “Ah. And being friends with me makes you vulnerable.” At that moment, Derek realizes nothing but the whole truth will fix what he’s done, so he turns fully towards Stiles and says, “That’s not it. I’ll try to explain, but can you please try to listen and not interrupt me?”

After Stiles slight nod, Derek begins to explain, in starts and stops, how he felt when he was lying in that hospital bed, how he wasn’t paying much attention to anything but the pain he felt, how he had to make sure his healing powers wouldn’t heal a shard of glass into his skin. He explained how, in that moment, he barely heard what Melissa was saying and that he forgot himself, saying things he didn’t mean and thinking he could easily tell the truth to Melissa after his mind was clear from the fog the pain caused. “I didn’t know you were there. I- my hearing was bad. I almost couldn’t hear what Melissa was saying. And then, when I could hear you, you were running away. And there was no way I could run after you in the state I was. So I told myself I would have a chance to explain it to you the next time we saw each other. But you started ignoring me and so, here we are.”

An array of emotions had passed through Stiles’ face while he quietly listened to Derek and now he was looking at the wall behind Derek without really seeing it. After a few seconds, Derek asked, “You were ignoring me because of what you heard, weren’t you Stiles?” And at Stiles’ distracted “uhun,” Derek says his name more forcefully. Stiles finally looks back at Derek and exclaims, “What?! Dude, I’m sorry, but that was a lot to dump on me and just wait for me to go with it. I need a moment to absorb everything you just told me.”

There’s a hint of a smile in his face, so Derek finally relaxes and waits. After a few seconds, Stiles asks, “So you don’t think I’m a liability or any of these things you said?” and Derek instantly answers, “No, I don’t.”

It’s like something uncoils deep inside Stiles and he suddenly looks younger, lighter, as if there was something heavy on his shoulders and it’s just not there anymore. His eyes look brighter and his smile is huge as he slips from the couch into the floor, where he stays hugging his legs with his face pressed against his knees, which are bent in front of him. “That’s such a- I’m- I don’t even know,” he stammers, and after a sigh, finishes, “I’m glad. I really thought...”

“I know. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” Derek asks, sliding closer and giving in to the sudden need to touch Stiles, placing a hand in his head. Stiles turns his head back against the couch, pining Derek’s hand beneath his head. “Of course. I wasn’t mad at you, though I now think I should have been. I was just sad.” He shrugs, as if that’s that, but seems to get that it’s not enough for Derek. “Hey, dude, don’t turn this into one more thing to feel guilty about. I understand why you did it, I now know you didn’t meant it. It’s cool. We’re cool. I forgive you.”

Derek just nods, with a little smile, “Okay.” And they stay like that, staring at each other, for quite some time. Derek’s hand softly caressing Stiles hair from where it’s stuck against the couch until he hears the telltale sound of Scott’s bike coming down the street. He looks at the door and Stiles sits back up, rightly guessing, “Scott’s back?” At Derek’s nod, they both get up and start to go the door while Derek says, “I should go. You and Scott have plans and,” only to be interrupted by a whole body hugging him. “Thank you for making me listen,” Stiles says against his shoulder and ends the hug before Derek has time to understand what’s happening and react.

And then Scott is opening the door and staring at both of them in a weird watching-a-ping-pong-match way, so Derek just says, “Night,” and leaves. The last thing he hears is Scott’s, “Yes! I knew you’d work it out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over! Who wants more?


End file.
